Gasometer



No. 6I2,5|6. I Patented Oct. I8, |898.

R. H. CULLUM.

GASDMETER. @pplicafion med occ; 2a, leaf.)-

(No Model.) A

" stance for the nitrous oXid and shows its RICHARD HENRY CULLUM, OF.ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

GASONETER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,516, dated October18, 1898.. Application filed October 23, 1897. `Serial No. 656,174. (Nomodel.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known thatI, RICHARD HENRY CUL- LUM, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Paul, Ramsey county, Minnesota, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Gasometers, of which thefollowing is a specification suiiiciently full, clear, and exact toenable those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to makeand use the same;

In the administration of gas by dentists and the `like it is common toemploy two flexible bags, one containing the nitrous oXid and the otherthe oxygen, from which bags pipes lead to the mouthpiece or inhalerproper, where the mixing of the gases occurs; but the objection has beennoted that these bags when at first distended and possibly slightlystretched supply their gases under pressure and at too great a force,whereby the patient is partially strangled and always frightened andrendered nervous, whereas afterward when the bags become partiallyemptied they do not supply the gases with sufficient force or speed andweights have to be placed thereon at intervals which can only be guessedat and are as unreliable as the skill of the attendants. To overcomethese objections, various other devices have been constructed, all withtheir particular disadvantages.

The object of the present invention is to produce a device which willsupply a gas (or in ilow, and fright and nervousness are effec#` tuallyavoided. This object I attain by the mechanism described belowandillustrated in the accompanying drawing, which'shows in section twotanks, one of which is for the oxygen and illustrates its cylinder aslowered and the other of which is in the present incylinder raised.However, it will be clear that a single tank could be employed forcontaining but one gas or anesthetic, and if the latter was actuallycomposed of two gases they could be mixed and supplied to the singlecylinder in any suitable manner.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, the letter T designates a tankv(here of sufficient size to contain two cylinders, although it needcontain but one when a single gas is to be administered) of any suitablematerial and shape. Vithin this tank is located a reservoir R,containing water and open at its top at a point some distance below theclosed top of the tank, and fitting closely within the reservoir R is a'cylinder E, of inverted-cup shape, containing the oxygen.

G is a pipe leading from within `the cylinder possibly down through thereservoir and to the exterior of the tank, where it is suitablyconnected with the mouthpiece. (Not shown.) On the tank or upon anysuitable support is mounted an upright U, carrying a pulley D about overthe center of the cylinder, and C is a cord connected with the cylwhichis attached to the cord just above the weight,will come just under thepulleyD when the cylinder is lowered, as seen at the t inder, as abovedescribed. In the illustra= tion herewith the right-hand compartmentcontains a cylinder for the nitrous oxid, and the same letters ofreference are employed, except that capitals are used at the left andVsmall letters at the right. This cylinder also has its pipe g leadingto Athe mouthpiece. (Not shown.) The parts being assembled and the twocylinders filled with their proper gases and raised, so that the arms Aa are horizontal, the weights W w at this time almost or fullycounterbalance the weights of their respective cylinders. As gas isallowed to escape through pipes Gr g and the cylinders settle into thewater in their reservoirs R r the cords draw upon the weights and thelatter are raised; but the use of the arms A a causes these weights torise through arcs of circles, of which the pivots B b are the centers,and the weights are thus more and more sustained by said arms as theyapproach a vertical position, until nally the cylinders have becomeexhausted and the parts stand as seen at the left in the drawing.Meanwhile the cylinders have settled more and more into the water oftheir reservoirs and gradually lost weight by their increasingdisplacement of water. If the parts are properly proportioned, this lossof weight of the cylinders should equal the loss of weight of thecounterbalances as sustained by the arms, and the result will be anequal and steady supply of the gases to the mouthpiece. This effects theadvantages sought to be attained,as above set forth. It is obvious thata single tank, reservoir, and cylinder lcontaining a proper anestheticcould be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention solong as the arrangement of cord, pulley, arm, and weight was used inconnection therewith. The size, shape, and exact proportion of parts areimmaterial, with these exceptions.

In the practical use of my invention it will be found that the cylindersare of such size that they sink ordinarily to too great a depth into thewater, and hence I prefer to make each of them double or with doublewalls closed at the lower end and open at the top.

E is the inner wall, and E the outer, thus forming an air-space Fbetween them, which causes greater displacement and buoyancy Withoutincreasing the weight of the cylinder. If the latter is thereby made toolight for the weight WV, as much shot or other ballast, such as water,can be poured into the air-space and allowed to stand therein as willequalize matters, all as will be clear to the user.

l. In a gasometer, the combination with an open-topped reservoircontaining water, and a pipe leading from above its water-line to itsexterior; of an inverted-cup-shaped gas-containing cylinder fittingloosely within said reservoir, a cord leading from the cylinder over apulley to a counterbalancing-weight, the latter being lowered when thecylinder is raised, and an arm pivoted at a point near the cord andconnected with it just above the weight and of such length that it willreach from its pivot to the pulley when upright, as and for the purposeset forth.

2. In a gasometer, the combination with an open-topped reservoircontaining a liquid, and a pipe leading from above the surface thereofto the exterior of the reservoir; of an RICHARD HENRY CULLUM.

Vitnesses:

L. Fnnsnr., Jr. GEO. E. SCALES.

